September 25, 2013

Saving the Fort Henry Club


McKinley & Associates is an entrepreneurial company investing in the community. Our firm is interested in expanding its development base throughout the region and will consider historically significant structures for adaptive reuse. Our most recent purchase is the historic Fort Henry Club building. We are excited to be a part of this and look forward to renovating this historic structure:

Demolition Won’t Be a Fort Henry Club Option
By: IAN HICKS – Staff Writer, The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

“WHEELING – All options are on the table concerning future use of the former Fort Henry Club, its new owner said Tuesday.

All options, that is, except demolishing the historic downtown Wheeling building that for decades was home to one of the city’s most exclusive social organizations before closing two years ago.

“A big part of our business is historic restoration,” said Ernie Dellatorre, president of the architectural firm McKinley and Associates, which closed on its purchase of the building from St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Friday. “That building’s pretty significant to Wheeling, and we wanted to step up and save the building.”

According to Dellatorre, use of the more than 160-year-old building at the corner of 14th and Chapline streets will depend on what types of tenants express interest in renting space there.

“All options are on the table, whether it’s office space, living space, or whatever,” he said, noting it would likely be one or the other, though a mixed use is possible. “The building is now available.”…

…Although there’s no shortage of space available for rent in downtown Wheeling, Dellatorre believes the former club’s historic appeal and its location in the heart of the city’s “financial district” between the City-County Building and the Federal Building will make it attractive to tenants.

“It’s a great piece of property,” he said.”